Wednesday, March 15, 2017

The Writer and the Literary Press: The Prepared Manuscript

More than 30 years ago, I
learned to type. I learned on a massive IBM Selectric. The Selectric
typewriter was an unbelievable machine. It's size was impressive, if
nothing else. It hummed. I liked the humming. It grew hot to the
touch, and at times it was almost untouchably hot. It was a Gatling
gun for my thoughts. However, in 1986 in Mr Archer's typing class, my
thoughts were not more advanced than the exercises and typing drills
presented to me. All said, I type nearly every day and I still use
the things I learned in the 8th grade typing class.

Sure, I have my own ideas
about how a manuscript should look. I have that 20th
century sensibility. I like wide margins. I am a lover of Courier. I
know that certain fonts will have certain affects. I mean, if you
want all characters to have the
same value, use Courier.
However, your manuscript may not be taken seriously by an editor,
especially one who has never seen an IBM Selectric if you use weird
fonts. As for me, as an editor, I prefer Times New Roman 12 point
font. I think it's pretty much the standard anyway, or at least the
default. If you want varying fonts, get into design.

As
an editor, I have preferences for sure. As far as a fiction
submission goes, I have rules. Yes, I like Times New Roman 12 point
font. I like one inch margins. I like things that are double spaced.
Simple page numbers are nice. That pretty much sums up what I need.
Manuscripts that lack these things, sadly, I probably won't read. To
sum it up: keep the page clean.

Recently,
I participated in an interview with Duotrope. One of the questions
asked: “How much of a submission do you read?” Wonderful
question. I read to the third error, typo or annoyance. I figure
that's two more than a reader would tolerate. I think a certain level
of errors happens with every manuscript. I mean, there are probably a
dozen in this post alone. But to ask for an editor's time, it's best
to set a well written manuscript free of errors and properly
formatted down for consideration.

These
last few months I have sent a good number of manuscripts to a good
number of magazines. When I open one of my files the first thing I
do, before reading a single word, is to format it. I check the
margins, the spacing, the justification, the font and the font size.
I then make sure that there is one space between the end of one
sentence and the beginning of the next. I grew up with typewriters
and I will still hit the space bar twice between sentence. After I
know the story is properly formatted, then I begin the editing
process. My goal is this: a well written story and a properly
prepared manuscript.

Make
it easy on an editor. Yes, you should do your research and know that
your story and that magazine are a match made in heaven. Yes, you
should ensure that your story is free of errors in grammar,
formatting and spelling. Please, for all that is best for everyone
and everything involved, make sure your manuscript is properly
formatted.

Next time: Ready Set
Submit! (Cover letter, Bio, housekeeping) and The Reject/Accept